Like many others, there are things I have learned in recent years that it would have been really helpful to have been told about earlier on in my career. Knowing about the relative ineffectiveness of marking stacks of books, the power of retrieval practice and the importance of background knowledge, for instance, would have all helped me be a much better teacher.
But whilst insights like these are crucial to improving learning and managing workload, they are not my focus here. Implementing the principles of retrieval practice, for instance, requires a great deal of strategic thought and collaboration. Instead, I wanted to share a few simple things before the start of the new term that I wish someone had taken me to one side and explained – things I think teachers can take on board relatively easily to improve their teaching.